I recently obtained a Dreamwear mask from my equipment supplier. I was fitted at their office. (Medium/Medium) I am a side sleeper and thought this would be just the ticket for me. The first night I found several issues and I was wondering if others have experienced these also:

1) When I sleep on my side and compress the mask tube with my head, I notice a decrease in air volume that makes me feel as if I am being starved for air. When I rotate to my back, the feeling of starvation stops. (Constant at 11cm - no ramp)
2) I cannot seem to find a position on my side where the mask will stay sealed. It is fine whenever I am on my back or not laying down. I use a regular pillow and have gotten in the habit of scrunching the pillow up and hanging my face off the side (so my Eason mask will not leak).

Any advice for me?
I do like the feel of this mask, and hope I can make it work.

You could always switch to the Resmed Airfit P10. We like to think "resistance is futile". It will solve the problem of being able to sleep on your side without dislodging the mask or crushing an air inlet, and will be a quiet solution that does not blow air on you or whomever you sleep with. Hell, even the dog doesn't like air blowing on him.

I have never noticed the feeling of not enough air when on my side with the DreamWear. But I will say that when I roll over in the night I am conscious of having to adjust the nasal 'pillow' to stop leaks. But I have to add to that, I am currently still using a loaner mask which is one size too big in both the pillow and the headgear, so that might be to blame.

I get a much lower leak rate using the DreamWear and LOVE the hose connection being at the top of the head so basically it's connect it and forget it for the night.

I also plan to get a P10 For Her mask as a back up mask. Aside from the hose dragging off the face, I love it's minimalistic design but I do get more leak rate using it. Once again though the loaner I borrowed was too large and I hope when I order the For Her P10's that it will make a difference and work better.

Remember guys, size matters - actually being serious about the masks!

APNEABOARD - A great place to be if you're a hosehead!!

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I felt the same problem with the Dreamwear mask. When laying on my side, it felt as if the air flow was blocked on one side, even though they try to tell you that it will deliver all the air flow to the other side, but I couldn't tell. Also, the nasal mask had to be adjusted several times during the night to stop leaks. This defeats the purpose of getting a good nights sleep. I'll stick with the P10.

My experience with the DreamWear is similar to yours. After nine days, Leaks were higher than with my main mask, a P10. Minor changes in sleeping positions would cause the nasal interface to be dislodged. Experimented with strap tension (where less is usually better), but no help.

Other data such as AHI and snores were no different between the masks.

I've gone back to my AifFit P10, with the Swift FX Pillows mask as secondary.

I too gave the dreamwear mask a trial run. I'm not a fan of it at least as compares to the P10s. I found the noise and air volume coming out of the small rectangular nasal vent hole in the front of the cushion too loud and too much. It wakes me up a few times a night disrupting sleep. Although I had one 0.0 ahi night I didn't feel as rested as a solid night with the p10s. I'm going to keep it as an emergency backup though. The p10s are amazingly quiet and the results in terms of how I feel in the AM (the ultimate test) are unsurpassed.

I don't have any vent noise from my DreamWear mask unless I get a sheet or hand too close to it. On my Wisp I would get air in my eyes and was constantly getting tangled in the hose--and it hurt my nose. I get leaks with the DreamWear but not enough to trigger a large leak--a few nights SH has warned me of a major leak. This usually occurs if I pull the cushion up off my face to re-position it. I also don't have the problem of cutting off the air--or at least not getting enough--so this must be a positional thing. I've loosed the mask--you have to have it loose enough so it doesn't push up on your nose--and this seems to work pretty well.

1) I have developed an open sore at the base of the septum on my face. Based on what I have read in other threads, I need to try some HPA Lanolin cream.

2) The mask is a little noisy but I have gotten use to that.

3) I am very sensitive to air being reflected by my bedding back into my face from the hole in the front of the mask. Since I normally sleep in a room that normally is about 50F degrees, that reflected air is very cold! The room is not going to get any warmer this time year as I am in a log cabin and all the heat is provided by a wood stove in the main room.

4) At times when I roll over, it seems like the mask is leaking. However the PRS1 that I am using does not record a leak. BY shifting my head a little bit, it seems to go away. I tried feeling for a leak but couldn't find any. It may be just a change in position of the hole across my nose giving me the noise and feeling.

All of that said, if I can get the nose irritation under control, I am not giving this mask up: its benefits outweigh the problems. I specifically like the hose at the top of the head, the comfort of your he mask during use and the ability to sleep on either side and change to the other without problems.

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.